Eastern Boys begins
at Gare du Nord, the Parisian transit hub where a group of young Eastern
European men and boys are shown from surveillance camera angles, hustling and
soliciting to any and all passersby who are looking for illicit transactions of
a sexual nature.

On the fringes of their
throng comes Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin), a fifty-something French professional
who likes what he sees in young Ukrainian immigrant Marek. After an initial
proposition, Daniel and Marek arrange for a rendezvous at Daniel’s apartment.
However, the film takes a dark twist when trouble comes knocking at Daniel’s
door instead of Marek.

Eastern Boys is
the latest film from French writer and sophomore director Robin Campillo, most
famous for his previous film Les
Revenants or The Returned en
Anglais. The film begins by differentiating itself from every other film made
in Paris by shunning the romance and mood the city of light is famous for in
favour of stark realism, showing Paris for what it truly is, not a city of
light but a city of shades of grey. And it is within these shades of grey that
Daniel and Marek begin a relationship, first based around commerce and lust,
and later developing into something more meaningful.

The relationship between
Daniel and Marek is meant to be the centrepiece of the events that transpire
within the film, a kind of organic narrative that balances precariously between
lust and fear, but it is marred by the fact that Marek’s youth is highlighted
and lingered upon without his age ever being explicitly mentioned.

One of the many complaints I
have about Eastern Boys is its
ambiguity toward pederasty. Some may cry foul and cluck their tongues about
prudishness but the fact remains that I fail to feel sympathy, empathy or any
kind of connection with a man who solicits underage boys for sex, everything
that stems out of their first encounter is marred by the indecency of Daniel’s
proposal.

When the camera is not
focused on Daniel or Marek’s flesh it hazily turns to issues of a social and
political nature. Some of the ambiguity and difficulty of these issues is well
handled by the filmmakers, however; the undercurrent of racial tensions and
political discourse surrounding issues of immigration are never fully developed
or explored in a film that is unfocused on the bigger issues.

The performances are a mixed bag of consummate and amateurish
with Rabourdin giving a convincing performance as outsider Daniel, while the
eponymous boys give a mixture from surprisingly heartfelt through to over the
top and ridiculous. This is unsurprising given that all but the most prominent
boys are first time actors. While the faces lend the film authenticity, their
craftsmanship distracts from the work as a whole.

Eastern Boys begins
as a promising film that is soon burdened by the weight of its own seriousness,
a burden that the film simply cannot bear as it limps into its fourth and final
act, whereupon Eastern Boys
completely degenerates into a more traditional and tension filled thriller
finale that is discordant with its earlier acts.

Eastern Boys is
a promising concept that quickly gets bogged down by a ponderous pace, it is an
inexplicable film that tries too hard to be important and ends up breaking
under its own weight. If you are a Sydney Film Festival completest then you may
find something to enjoy in Eastern Boys
but if you have a limited budget for the festival then save your money for
something else.

Eastern Boys is not part of the official competition of
The Sydney Film Festival. Eastern Boys has
two showings during the festival; Monday June 9 at 4:45pm and Thursday June 12
at 7pm at George St Cinemas.